Korth Combat .357 Review: The Rolls Royce of Revolvers

You know, it’s weird to not like a nearly perfect gun like the Korth Combat Revolver. Really. I wonder about myself. Am I just dissing it because that makes me look cool? Is it a case of ‘sour grapes’ over a gun I could never afford to buy? What’s the deal?

I should like this gun. It is phenomenally well made. Everything about it is meant to be perfect. And it isn’t just a matter of exquisite fit and finish. No, the thing is made – completely – out of hardened tool steel, which will last through tens of thousands of full-house magnum rounds without significant wear.

Seriously. You could buy one of these guns, use it heavily through your entire life, and then hand it on to your kid in damned near as good a condition as the day you took it out of the box. This isn’t just quality; this is lasting quality. Enduring quality. Almost pretentious quality.

And I guess that’s why I have a hard time liking this gun. We were joking about it when we were using one with a six-inch (actually, 5.875-inches) barrel for the BallisticsByTheInch.com tests, saying that one of the options on the gun was to have a servant (who came with the gun) load, unload, and clean the thing for you. It honestly made me nervous to handle the damned thing, like I was caught pretending I was something I’m not (that is, wealthy).

The design of the revolver makes it look a bit like a Colt Python. But the internals are much stronger than a Python could ever hope to be. And the tolerances are extremely fine.

The cylinder gap is spec’ed at 0.003 inches (industry standard is more like 0.007 inches). Yet, the cylinder is designed to pop out, either for cleaning or for change to accommodate a different cartridge (such as 9mm Luger or 9x21mm). Yeah – there’s a little lever, and the thing just pops out. Yet, it pops back into position with a minimal cylinder gap.

This was probably a factor in how well the Korth performed in our tests. It did significantly better (in terms of higher bullet velocity) across the board over my six-inch Python, and as well or better than the Smith & Wesson Model 627 with a 5.625-inch barrel.

Shooting the Korth was – OK. I found the trigger to be harder than I would have expected in double action. Oh, it is completely adjustable, but since it wasn’t mine I wasn’t going to mess with it.

In single action it was fine. Of course, it felt like glass – wet glass – in terms of how smooth it was. And when it broke it was crisp and clean.

Recoil was fine, even when shooting full-house magnum loads. Partly this was due to the grip design (similar to the custom grips I have on my Python), which made it easy to hold onto the gun solidly, even with my large hands. Partly it was due to the solidness of the gun.

Accuracy? Well, as good as I am. Probably a hell of a lot better, to be honest. The Korth Combat Magnum isn’t designed to be a target gun, and isn’t the first choice for those who are looking for a target gun for high-end competition. But even though this is a “Combat” model, it has fully adjustable/replaceable sights that were quite good.

The fit and finish really is something to behold, and the model we were using was towards the bottom of their model line, with just a highly polished deep-blue finish (as opposed to plasma or engraved finishes) and lovely walnut grips (ivory and exotic woods are optional). Some of the fittings and exposed pins are chrome, to provide a nice accent. Yeah, when you pick up the gun, it very much feels like you’re picking up a true work of art.

Of course, prices start at about $6,000 for a Korth Combat Magnum these days. Everything is listed as “Price on Request” (P.O.R.) on the Korth website, but the price list is about eight years old and you can rest assured that prices have not gone down in the intervening years. You really have to pay for this kind of quality.

But, is it worth it? Well, I wouldn’t spend that kind of money on one, even if I had it to spend. But that’s me. Like I said, I can’t warm up to it. But then, I’m also the kind of person who can’t see the sense in spending the extra money on a Rolex or a Rolls Royce. I can admire the level of quality and craftsmanship that goes into making those high-end products, though. And there I’d have to say that the Korth Combat Magnum is in the same league.

Post your Comments

It's kind of like having a house that your afraid to live in, you know the ones with so much valuable stuff in it it's like like a museum, your afraid to move around in it, that's how I feel about this revolver, so beautiful and valuable, I don't want to shoot it..So then what good is it if you don't want to shoot it?

Your Korth revolver is a Sport model, rather than Combat. Its previous owner reviewed it here:
http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=122799

It exemplifies the penultimate version of Willi Korth's design, serially numbered in the 30XXX range, and characterized by its recoil shield unrelieved for speedloader access and a rounded profile of the barrel shroud, similar to that of the Colt Python. It is a very valuable and collectible specimen of a series produced by Willi Korth under nominal sponsorship of Dynamit Nobel. As an owner of several dozen of Korth firearms, I prefer this variant to its successors.

You can find more information about Korth at the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Korth-Waffen/201323369922857
http://larvatus.livejournal.com/333566.html
http://larvatus.livejournal.com/tag/korth

It is a true work of art but as you say it is prohibitively expensive. Kinda like Wilson Combat 1911's hovering around the 3k mark or more. Sure they are beautiful but in this market you can find very similar accuracy...if not superior...for much less. I recently purchased an EAA Witness Elite Match new for $549 and when people handle it and fire it they are amazed at the fit, finish and accuracy. Then I tell them what I paid for it and their jaws drop. I had one man who had a $3200 Wilson Combat 1911 said he felt it was very close if not identical in fit and finish to his pistol and was just as accurate...then I told him what I paid it and and was visibly shocked. He told me his next purchase would be that very pistol. Korth pistols are phenomenal and I had the opportunity to fire their CZ 75 based pistol and it was incredible....but not so much so that I would be willing to spend that kind of money on it...I believe the gentleman paid in the mid 5K region several years ago. Thank you for the write up. It's kinda like reading about the latest exotic in Car and Driver.

They're planning to introduce a range of rifles. Please try and be the first to review them. And thanks for this review. I haven't read many Korth reviews before, but then, you don't get to read reviews of Bugatti cars either. :)

I am not trading in my Ruger or Smith Revolvers for a Korth. I really don't want to buy a gun I have to finance. My.327 sp101 and Smith 66 in.357 work, and my Performance Center.44 Magnum 1/6 the price. Anyone here hate their Performance Center Revolver enough to spend $6,000? and Brett you're not comparing apples to apples...BUT you could buy 4 m4s and 4 Glocks for 6000 :)

A Korth is way more worth the money than a Python... Pythons are cool but paying 1500-2000 just for a "shooter" python is ridiculous. Korth says I'm willing to pay a lot for the best... python says I like to have things I can brag about.